On Saturday morning we made a quick trip to the central market hall, which was just down the road from our hostel, before we had to leave for our flight to Split. It's a really beautiful big shed-like building with two levels absolutely packed with stalls selling everything from fresh fruit to delicious pastries to gifts, souvenirs, & clothes. I could probably have spent hours in there just wandering around but unfortunately we only had 45 minutes to spare so it was a bit of a whirlwind visit.

We had to take the underground from our hostel to the last station, a bus to get us to the end of the line (because of construction going on), then another bus to the airport after that! Fortunately we made it all in good time & were checked in well & truly an hour before boarding time. Strangely enough we had one of the best meals I've had on this trip right there in the airport…although that may have been aided by the combination of how hungry I was & the beverages consumed the night before…

The flight from Budapest to Split took barely more than an hour & it seemed that pretty much once we got up & leveled out we were making our descent again into Croatia. As we walked off the plane onto the tarmac you could feel that warm, tropical breeze wash over you & it was like an instant breath of relaxation :) One 40 minute shuttle ride later we were on the harbour in the Split, looking out over the beautiful deep, blue water.

As we made our way along the promenade looking for an entry into the old palace walls into the heart of the old town where our hostel was situated, we came across a huge crowd of people & dozens of riot police. Now, when you're in a foreign country with a giant pack on your back, being in a crush of people where there are riot people standing suggesting some sort of fight might be about to break out is not exactly where you want to be. So we pressed on as quickly as possible & after much winding through the narrow cobbled streets we finally found our way to our hostel.

The hostel owner explained that today had been the first ever gay pride parade to be held in Split, but because there is still a considerable homophobic population among the people in Croatia, riot police had to be called in to the guard the parade because of threats of violence. Fighting had indeed broken out & the crowds of people rioting against the parade had to be controlled with tear gas, & the parade itself had to be called off half way through because it got out of control. I felt very sad that this kind of protest against gay rights could still be happening today. The hostel owner said it made her ashamed to be Croatian. She warned against going out that evening in case there was any more violence related to the day's events, particularly after people had been drinking, so we decided to play it safe & have a quiet evening in.

We are staying in a beautiful hostel right in the centre of the old town (appropriately names Old Town Hostel), which is nearly impossible to find, but is just lovely, & because we are 4 stories up, you can look out over the old rooftops & winding streets of the town from our window, which is a stunning view. While Nigel was looking up cruises to Hvar & ferry timetables I went out to the local grocery store to pick up food for dinner. I made it there OK but on the way back I got completely lost & the very basic map that I'd taken with me with our hostel marked on it was absolutely no help! I asked around at a few different shops for directions & everyone was so helpful. Eventually two ladies in a small gift store actually insisted on going with me to find the place as they didn't know how to describe to me how to get there but thought they could take me there. They were insistent, & both locked up their shop & walked with me for about 15 minutes, asking other locals for help & explaining along the way that many streets in Split don't even have names or that the names change every year or so, so everyone is always getting lost! Eventually we found the hostel & they were just delighted to have helped me. It really made my day to have met such kind, helpful locals :)